11/12/12- - CBC Radio's 'The Current' - Ashley Smith Case

Lee Steven Chapelle, President of Canadian Prison Consulting Inc: Make no mistake; what happened to Ashley Smith is a travesty.

However, it is also reflective of our present government’s culture of their 'Tough on Crime' approach and how deeply it has taken hold inside a very closed system. The tapes released showing the inhumane treatment leading up to her death offer us just a glimpse into what is happening in the Canadian prison system on a daily basis.

Yet, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews still maintains that Ashley Smith was not a victim, just as the entire federal government has maintained for more than five years until finally legally forced to release just a few brief segments of the more than 60 hours of video footage CSC has in its possession demonstrating the repeated inhumane treatment of a teenage Canadian girl whose imprisonment began based upon incidents of 'self harm'. Time for accountability and much higher standards.